CHAGE

NAME

chage - change user password expiry information

SYNOPSIS

chage [options] LOGIN

DESCRIPTION

The
chage
command changes the number of days between password changes and the date of the last password change. This information is used by the system to determine when a user must change his/her password.

OPTIONS

The options which apply to the
chage
command are:

-d, --lastdayLAST_DAY

Set the number of days since January 1st, 1970 when the password was last changed. The date may also be expressed in the format YYYY-MM-DD (or the format more commonly used in your area).

-E, --expiredateEXPIRE_DATE

Set the date or number of days since January 1, 1970 on which the user's account will no longer be accessible. The date may also be expressed in the format YYYY-MM-DD (or the format more commonly used in your area). A user whose account is locked must contact the system administrator before being able to use the system again.

Passing the number
-1
as the
EXPIRE_DATE
will remove an account expiration date.

-h, --help

Display help message and exit.

-I, --inactiveINACTIVE

Set the number of days of inactivity after a password has expired before the account is locked. The
INACTIVE
option is the number of days of inactivity. A user whose account is locked must contact the system administrator before being able to use the system again.

Passing the number
-1
as the
INACTIVE
will remove an account's inactivity.

-l, --list

Show account aging information.

-m, --mindaysMIN_DAYS

Set the minimum number of days between password changes to
MIN_DAYS. A value of zero for this field indicates that the user may change his/her password at any time.

-M, --maxdaysMAX_DAYS

Set the maximum number of days during which a password is valid. When
MAX_DAYS
plus
LAST_DAY
is less than the current day, the user will be required to change his/her password before being able to use his/her account. This occurrence can be planned for in advance by use of the
-W
option, which provides the user with advance warning.

Passing the number
-1
as
MAX_DAYS
will remove checking a password's validity.

-R, --rootCHROOT_DIR

Apply changes in the
CHROOT_DIR
directory and use the configuration files from the
CHROOT_DIR
directory.

-W, --warndaysWARN_DAYS

Set the number of days of warning before a password change is required. The
WARN_DAYS
option is the number of days prior to the password expiring that a user will be warned his/her password is about to expire.

If none of the options are selected,
chage
operates in an interactive fashion, prompting the user with the current values for all of the fields. Enter the new value to change the field, or leave the line blank to use the current value. The current value is displayed between a pair of
[ ]
marks.

NOTE

The
chage
program requires a shadow password file to be available.

The
chage
command is restricted to the root user, except for the
-l
option, which may be used by an unprivileged user to determine when his/her password or account is due to expire.

CONFIGURATION

The following configuration variables in
/etc/login.defs
change the behavior of this tool: